Blade of the Heart
by Erdric Calhar
Summary: In the final days of the Moon Kingdom, Sailor Uranus and Nephrite find themselves in dire trouble as Beryl herself joins in the attack. How will these two handle themselves, and what is this new feeling between them? Oneshot challenge fic.


Author: Erdric Calhar

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon in any way shape or form.

Blade of the Heart

As their very world seemed to collapse around her head in a rain of chaos, Sailor Uranus dashed madly through the once glorious kingdom of the Moon, praying fervently that others still lived in this madness, for around her naught could be seen but death and destruction. One thought alone drove her on, 'Please let me be in time to save the princess…' The Outer Senshi could feel within her very spirit an urgent sense of danger surrounding the beloved Moon Princess, and it remained her duty, as Sailor Uranus, to protect the future queen at all costs.

Lines of pure power cut through the sky like lightning as the dark forces of the negaverse continued their unrelenting assault upon the universe's reining kingdom. The dark queen, Beryl, refused to allow even a single marble pillar to remain standing upon the grounds of her direly hated foes. Dodging debris at every desperate step, the Senshi erupts from the mayhem to find herself horrified at the pathetic sight of the palace gardens. Of the once beautiful array of bright flowers, not but a charred landscape remained, above which hung the motionless forms of her precious princess, Serenity, and of the princess' beloved, the prince of Earth, Endymion. Acting nearly on instinct, Sailor

Uranus rushed towards the suspended pair, completely ignoring all impending danger in her headstrong determination to aid her liege. Shockwaves of force send her reeling off her feet before even half of the required ground is covered. Pain rocketed through her every nerve as the vicious energies tore at her battered form, slowly lifting Uranus from her feet, relieving her of any possible control over the situation and dominating her as one would a newborn babe. The evil, mocking laugh of her aggressor rang through her mind as she struggled vainly to break the horrid link.

Suddenly, she found herself upon the ground once more, panting from her exertion and squinting dimly at the form of her savior standing over her. Vibrant, brown hair extended down the back of the form's tattered uniform as a deep voice rang out above the chaos. "Beryl, enough! The Moon Kingdom has fallen! This senseless slaughter of lives was never part of our agreement!!"

For one long moment the crackle of energy, the screams of torment, all sounds of war in the area merely ceased as the dark queen turned, ever so slowly, to face the mysterious man. Her voice came out nearly in a hiss. "So…you dare to defy me now, hmm, Nephrite?" A low, sinister chuckle escaped from her throat. "My victory is assured, my powers at a new high. Now is hardly the time for you to have second thoughts about our little…bargain."

Confusion swirled through Uranus' head upon recognizing the man as Nephrite, third high general of the Earth, a personal guard of Endymion himself. 'What 'bargain' could these two possibly have made?' The general's booming voice broke into her unfinished thoughts. "We general's of the Earth agreed to aid you so that the Moon may be brought down from power, NOT so that its existence could be wiped from the universe!" An involuntary gasp escaped the Senshi's throat at the proclamation as her thoughts turned inward once more. 'The Earth has been plotting against the Moon!? But no, that's not possible…Endymion would never…' "Cease your attack upon our lord and his lady!" Nephrite's voice rang through the stillness as a direct command. The demand merely brought about a sardonic smirk to the fiendish queen's unfeeling lips. Angered beyond thought, a snarl formed upon the man's face. "NOW, Beryl!!"

The queen merely scoffed at his bravado. "And just what, my dear general, do you think you can possibly do to stop me." Surging another blast of energy into the suspended lovers for emphasis, Beryl cackled maniacally at the twisted screams of pain.

In a flash, a shining broadsword blazed to life in Nephrite's right hand as he lashed out with his left, rocketing a bolt of his own power towards the fiendish queen. Hardly waiting for his bolt to smash upon her force shield, the general leapt through the air in a blink, descending upon the witch through a sparkling cloud of his own repulsed energy. Temporarily blinded by the flash of energy, Beryl almost succumbed to his vicious sword attack. Almost. Within moments, Nephrite writhed in pain, suspended a scant foot above his target, yet left sadly defenseless after the queen's harsh counterattack knocked his blade clanging across the cold ground of the courtyard.

Regaining a bit of composure lost from the man's forceful offensive, Beryl grinned mockingly up at her new victim. "Hmm, now then, Nephrite, care to reconsider your rude betrayal?"

Forcing his eyes open amidst the cloud of power, Nephrite gnashed together his teeth, glaring down at the woman in defiance. "Never."

"Hmph," the queen's face dropped to a dark scowl with his unwanted response. In return, she directed more energy at him, sending it coursing through his body as he groaned in pain. Still he glared down upon her, clamping his mouth shut against the scream of pain surging up through his very bones. Chuckling darkly, she grinned up at the general once more. "So be it then." Lashing out with even more power, Beryl watched Nephrite's body buckle under the strain. "Come on, Nephrite, let me hear you scream…"

Stunned by the unusual events unfolding before her, Sailor Uranus lay still upon the ground, torn by an uncommon indecision. This man openly admitted to betraying the Moon Kingdom and everything that she herself holds dear, yet now he risks his live to save those involved…herself included. Anger and frustration rush madly through her system. SHE'S not the one that should be getting saved. SHE is the guard! And yet, here she sits, watching wide-eyed as a betrayer she once called friend rushes headlong into a near suicidal fight to save a world he helped destroy… to save his lord, Endymion, and her own princess, Serenity… to save even she, herself.

"Come now my dear general… scream for me!" Beryl lashed out at him with unheard of energy, drawing power from her own shield to deliver more pain upon her betrayer as well, thus leaving herself nearly defenseless. Leaving Queen Beryl, eternal enemy of nearly the entire universe and one true cause to the Moon Kingdom's destruction and all of the pain Uranus and her friend's have felt,… defenseless.

"World Shaking!" Filled with a sudden sense of clarity, Uranus delivered her attack upon the unsuspecting queen to devastating effect. A direct impact sent Beryl toppling several feet backwards, as well as disrupting all active energies she was exerting. Nearly unconscious, Nephrite plummeted to the hard ground, as do the prince and princess. Racing over to the newly fallen forms, Uranus kneeled beside the general, Nephrite, first, helping him cautiously into a sitting position.

Groaning from the after aches of the evil queen's powers, he turned a pained eye up to his savior. "Why…why did you help me..?" Uranus, gazing down into the man's scarred face, suddenly felt a tightening in her chest at the obvious pain he'd received at her sake…at all of their sakes'. Visions flash back to her of previous dates when Endymion had visited the moon, always bringing his generals with him. To think that this kind man could betray all of them, destroying all that she loved… Tears threatened to flood her eyes at the mix-match of emotions, and she hastily shook her head, attempting to banish the feeling. As she turned once more to face the battered man, anger, hurt, distrust... all of these glare through her eyes into his.

"No. Let me ask you first… why?! Why did you betray our kingdom?" Indecision clouds his tired face as he turns slowly away.

"I…" He swallowed to wet his parched throat before continuing. "I believed that what our prince was doing was wrong. To join with the Moon Kingdom through the eventual marriage, it would leave the Earth split, weakened…" Nephrite adjusted slightly, fighting against the pain that had bombarded his system. "Still, he was too determined in his course…too blind to the later effects. We, his generals, discussed the situation at length, deciding it best to disrupt events, at least for the extent of the war. To do so, we joined with the enemy. We knew it wouldn't be hard, as much as Beryl hates the Earth, her feelings against the Moon run much, much deeper." Breathing deeply, Nephrite paused for only a moment. Uranus sat patiently alongside him, supporting him as the truths were revealed. "We'd all planned to take the residents of the Moon down to Earth, under our protection, until; perhaps, the kingdom here may be rebuilt. But, Beryl, it seems, had other ideas…" Sighing, the general gazed out towards Beryl's position, unable to see past the piles of marble debris. "I thought it all best for the people we fought to protect…"

A sudden impact sent Nephrite sprawling. Shocked, he rolled painfully over, worried that Beryl may have attacked them. However, he found naught but Uranus kneeling where he had been only moments ago, and her clenched fist slowly helped realization dawn on him. "You fool…" she hissed out amidst relieved tears. Knowing that he hadn't turned fully against them all seemed to lift some great weight from atop her heart. He'd always been so kind to her and the rest, she couldn't seem to bear the thought of trying to hate him.

"Haruka…" Nephrite muttered out, still rather surprised that she'd hit him. "I'm truly sorry about how this has all turned out, though I know no mere apology could be enough." At her lack of movement, he continued. "We four high generals are meant to guard against more than mere outward danger to our prince. We're also there to protect him from himself, and how he could possibly go along with this courtship and alliance in a time of such dire warfare, knowing how it would affect his people…" Shaking his head solemnly, Nephrite struggled onto his feet, attempting to cover the distance between the two of them. "None of us could begin to comprehend it. Therefore, we judged his logic to be in error, his judgment clouded, and so, we did what we thought we must." Collapsing at last before the silent form of the tall blond, he remained silent for many moments.

After a minute of such unnerving silence, Uranus raised her eyes. Upon finding his gaze bearing down into her own, her heart nearly skipped a beat. "Still," he continued, satisfied at having her attention, "after the attack began today, and it became apparent that Beryl would do things her own way, regardless of our agreement, we four generals decided to fight back against her." Glancing off into the ruined kingdom, he wondered where the others were now. "I was supposed to wait for the other three before engaging Beryl, yet…when I saw you come running in, I knew you'd never make it past her alive. And when she attacked you, I couldn't bear to watch you die. Regardless of the cost, I had to do something." He returned his powerful gaze to her stunned features. "Whatever came over me since then, I've begun to understand." Leaning back, he refused to release her eyes. "To understand just what Endymion has been thinking since the day he met Serenity."

Taken aback by the sudden comment, Sailor Uranus wracked her brain for anything to say. How unreasonable the thought was, how absurd concerning their current situation, and, more importantly, how to slow her rapidly beating heart so she could get in one straight thought where this man was concerned. Unfortunately for her, he continued before her swirling mind could make sense of anything. "And now, look how it all ends. To think I would be defeated with such ease, even with my sword…" A sudden catch in his tone drew the girl out of her lost state, refocused on his muddled face as he scanned their current battlefield. "My sword…?" Somewhat realizing his dilemma, she turned to where the sword last lay…to find nothing.

Before suspicions could hardly arise, maniacal laughter broke out above their heads, bringing both of their eyes skyward in a snap. Beryl, their nearly forgotten enemy, had managed to sneak above them, the perfect position for yet another deadly assault. "Foolish little Nephrite, to dare stand against me. You thought to save this pitiful girl," a mockingly twisted chuckle echoed from the queen's throat, "now watch her die by your own blade!" Lifting Nephrite's lost weapon, Beryl rocketed it toward the captivated Senshi with a speed only attained through her added use of evil power. Uranus hardly had time to open her mouth in a silent gasp of horror as the weapon closed to within seconds from her. Drawing on energies unknown, Nephrite heaved his bloodied form over that of Haruka's a split second before his glistening blade pierced like an arrow directly through his heart…and hers. Imbued with too much force, the speeding blade had no hope of being stopped by his lithe body alone. Immense cackling poured down from above them as the pain slowly faded from their systems. Eyes locked, the pair wondered at the unfinished ending they'd stumbled upon. Still, Haruka's heart seemed to lighten as she finally allowed realization to her feelings after this man had once again risked his life to save hers, giving it up in the attempt. Bringing a shaky hand up to cradle his soft face, she pulled his face to hers, slowly lessening the distance between them, able to feel his breath upon her lips as dots of light flashed within her vision. A resoundingly evil scream came from above the pair, but they ignored it. Beams of warm, colored light flooded the area, but neither cared. They pulled close as green light engulfed them both, strangely content as time seemed to fade away. They felt naught but warmth as they lay still, lives spent, yet forever connected…by the blade of their heart.


End file.
